Rostislav
A Slavic name meaning "growing glory". Purely a man's name, and a genuine rarity: most Poles will go a lifetime without meeting one, with only a handful of boys given it each year.
Rostislav Pronunciation
What Rostislav means
Where Rostislav comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Rostislav is built from two Slavic roots: rosti, to grow, and slava, glory. Together they read as "growing glory," an increase of renown rather than a fixed store of it. The name took deep hold in Russian, where it belongs among the old princely names.
History gives it a real bearer. Rastislav, a ninth-century ruler of Great Moravia, invited the missionaries Cyril and Methodius, whose work gave the Slavs their first writing. The Polish form, Rościsław, keeps the same two parts under a softer spelling.
The meaning stays active. On a Polish class register, Rościsław sits among names whose second half, sław, promises glory. That old sense holds: glory still growing rather than glory already won. The Polish form, Rościsław, ends on sław, glory.
How many people are named Rostislav
1 in 57692 men in Poland is named Rostislav. 370 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1552 among male names.
Rostislav's popularity over time
2 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1806 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2020. Still the #1552 name among living men, even as it slips to #1806 among newborns.
Where Rostislav is most popular
Rostislav is most popular in West Pomeranian, 753% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+358%) and Greater Poland (+235%).
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West Pomeranian2 boys born+753%
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Lower Silesian2 boys born+358%
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Greater Poland2 boys born+235%
Rostislav as a middle name
Rostislav is a first name for 370 men in Poland and a middle name for another 2, a 99/1 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 8647th, between Rossi (2) and Rostom (2).
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#8645 Rossen2
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#8646 Rossi2
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#8647 Rostislav2
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#8648 Rostom2
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#8649 Rubiel2